Drivers of animal migration and implications in changing environments

Migratory species are widespread in terrestrial, aquatic and aerial environments, and are important both ecologically and economically. Since migration is an adaptive response to particular conditions, environmental changes (climate or otherwise) will potentially alter the selective pressures on mov...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolutionary ecology 2016-12, Vol.30 (6), p.991-1007
Main Author: Shaw, Allison K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal Ecology
Animal migration
Automobile drivers
Behavior
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Climate change
Ecology
Ecosystems
Environmental changes
Environmental conditions
Evolutionary Biology
Habitats
Life Sciences
Migratory species
Ocean currents
Plant Sciences
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Summary:Migratory species are widespread in terrestrial, aquatic and aerial environments, and are important both ecologically and economically. Since migration is an adaptive response to particular conditions, environmental changes (climate or otherwise) will potentially alter the selective pressures on movement behavior. Such changes may also interfere with, or disrupt, a species’ ability to migrate. In either case, environmental changes could lead to the reduction or total loss of a migration, yet we have little understanding of when to expect these outcomes to occur. Here, I argue that an understanding of both the proximate and ultimate drivers of migration is needed if we are to predict the fate of migrations under changing environmental conditions. I review what is currently known about the drivers of animal migration, but show that we also need a more complete synthesis of migratory patterns across diverse ecosystems and taxonomic groups. The current understanding of migration indicates that (1) drivers of migration vary across species and ecosystems, and (2) a species’ ability to adapt to environmental change successfully depends in part on its migration drivers. Together, these findings suggest a way forward for studying and generating predictions of how changing environmental conditions will differentially impact species by taxonomic group and geographic region of the world.
ISSN:0269-7653
1573-8477
DOI:10.1007/s10682-016-9860-5